Privately-owned Co Durham-based property development company, Premcor Estates (Premcor), together with JV partner, Peveril Securities (Peveril), have sold a prime development at Catalyst in Sheffield to a UK investment fund for an undisclosed sum.
Close to J33 of the M1 and providing 285,000 sq ft of industrial space split across five units of 22,354 to 108,237 sq ft, Catalyst forms part of the Advanced Manufacturing Park which boasts world-class occupiers such as Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems, McLaren Automotive, Rolls-Royce, UK Atomic Energy Authority and The University of Sheffield, among others.
Premcor acquired the 18-acre site off-market in March 2021 by making a direct approach to its owners with support from agents BNP Paribas. The site had the benefit of an outline planning consent for industrial development and was the last remaining plot on Sheffield Business Park.
This month, Premcor and Peveril concluded their deal to forward sell the scheme to Mirastar, KKR Real Estate’s industrial and logistics platform in Europe, having structured the deal in such a way that they delivered the construction while Mirastar took on its own marketing and search for occupiers through Knight Frank, M1 Agency and GV&Co. As a result, fifty per cent of the scheme, Units 1 and 3, were pre-let for industrial and logistics use at practical completion.
Speaking about the deal, Premcor director, Simon Hawkins, said: “Premcor has an entrepreneurial approach to property development and a track record of successfully matching market demand with investor requirements and this deal was no different.
“The site was part of the former Sheffield Airport land, so we were delighted to be able to buy it off market. It’s in a highly sought after location, just off the M1 and close to the M18 where there has been a lack of new development stock coming forward recently, which means the area benefits from a strong occupier demand with rents moving on towards and beyond £8/sq ft.
“We approached Peveril with the site at the outset. It is the first time we have worked together, so I would hope we can do so again going forward. It is also our first time working with Mirastar after marketing the funding opportunity via our investment agents, Doherty Baines and Knight Frank. It has all gone very smoothly and we are pleased with the result.”
Peveril Securities is the wholly owned investment and development division of Bowmer and Kirkland (B+K) and operates on a nationwide basis across all sub-sectors of the UK real estate market.
Peveril Managing Director, Ralph Jones, said: “Peveril specialises in investment and development both in a sole capacity and as a JV partner, so I was pleased to be approached by Premcor with this opportunity which was a great fit for our portfolio.
“As part of the B+K Group, Peveril enjoys the benefit of being able to finance a variety of deals from balance sheet capital. It has been a good experience working with Premcor and a most satisfactory outcome.”
Kris Britland, Mirastar’s development director Northern Europe, added: “Mirastar is a pan-European logistics developer, investor and asset manager and acquires land for speculative and built-to-suit developments. The development at Catalyst has been an exemplary acquisition for us.
“We agreed terms with Premcor and Peveril to help bring forward the scheme. Fronting Sheffield Parkway, it is in a prime position to satisfy a wide range of occupiers, offering an advantageous location adjacent to the main arterial route from the M1 for occupiers wanting growth or relocation opportunities, in addition to the opportunity to tap into excellent labour resources in the region.”
